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August is Read-A-Romance Monthand I've been invited to join in the huge celebration. And when I say huge I mean MEGA. After you read my bit visit thespecial website dedicated to this party. You'll find a list of 93 of your favorite authors. All of them will be featured and they're all hosting giveaways. Then hop over to Lorelei's Lit Lairwhere you'll find more participating authors. Lorelei is a huge supporter of the romance community. On August 1 you can read her featured essay here.

The theme for this month's celebration is "The Joy of Romance". Read on for my short essay, a fun Q&A, my personal authors recs, and a giveaway!

Love Knows No Limits

One of the things I love about romantic fiction is that love knows no limits. Romance thrives in every decade, every century. Love conquers in every world--real or imagined. Reading about, writing about, or watching a movie about a man and woman falling in love fills my heart with joy. I don't care …

As noted in my previous post, I have devised a plan for broadening my horizons. I'm still in the midst of writing MARRY POPPINS, the third book in my modern-day fairy tale series--IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. And I'm jotting story notes for CHRISTMAS IMPOSSIBLE, WANDERLUST, and LOVING A LEGEND. All of these tales fall with the romance genre and they are slated for release within the next seven months. Yes, I'm pushing my limits. As I've said before, I'm not a speedy writer. However I am presently, fiercely focused and inspired.

Part of what's driving me is knowing that I'm working toward breaking into a new genre--Fantasy Mystery. THE EXTRAORDINARY QUEST OF ZOE ALBRIGHT (which I plan to Indie publish) is already a work-in-progress. Meanwhile my goal is to also sell a fantasy mystery project to a NYC traditional publisher. I spent the last three days heavily revising a proposal I started a while back for a fantasy mystery that takes place in the 1920s. I'm working …

I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse, but I am constantly bombarded with story ideas. Unfortunately, I'm not the world's fastest writer so it's impossible for me to keep up with my crazy muse. I'm easily distracted by shiny new ideas. Sometimes I give into them. Not a bad thing. Viva variety! But it does put a kink into the schedule of whatever "series" I'm trying to focus on.

I've spent the last few weeks thinking hard about my career. Where I am. Where I'd like to go. One thing I know for sure. I'm going to focus more on what inspires me creatively. What truly sparks my passion. And I'm going to worry less about "breaking out and ahead" financially. I'm going to reconnect with the crazy kind of passion that makes my storytelling unique. I'm going to have FUN.

My new goal is to complete my two Indie romance series (Peacemakers: Old West AND Impossible Dream) by mid 2016. Peacemakers: Old West will consist o…

Bear with me through the set-up. I swear this is not solely a promo shout. It's a promo shout leading up to a peek into how my mind works and ending with a question for you!

If you've been following me on Facebook or Twitter or even here (for the last couple of days), you know that I'm celebrating the reissues of my historical western series: Peacemakers: Old West. LASSO THE MOON, the first adventure in the series is on sale now for .99. Digital version only and only until July 24. If you haven't taken advantage, do so soon!

Book 2 and 3--ROMANCING THE WESTand FALL OF ROME are also available in digital for bargain prices. If you prefer a good ole book in your hands, they're available in print as well.

Gifting these tales with new covers (thank you EJR Digital Art), tweaked editing, and a sale with a two-week ad campaign allowed me an opportunity to garner new readers. Revitalizing these stories also revitalized my love of the Garrett family and assorted assoc…

A book caught my eye. Actually, the copy on the back of the book caught my eye.

If I have a wish for you, it is that you:Dream more Learn more Care more Be more Love, Dolly
It's a small book meant to inspire and motivate and it's written by Dolly Parton. I've always loved Dolly. She's bigger than life with her big hair, bold makeup, and glitzy wardrobe. She's charismatic, down-to-earth, and incredibly talented. A singer and songwriter. An actress and founder of Dollywood and the Dollywood Foundation for the Imaginary Library. She's also, I learned after speed reading the preface of this book, a gifted writer with some valuable insight and advice. I only just started DREAM MORE--Celebrate the Dreamer in You and I am already charmed and inspired. Happening on this little gem at this particular time in my life was a blessing. "Dreams took me from a shack at the foothills of great Smokey Mountains to Nashville and then to Hollywood. And then around the world, like Ci…

Yeah. You saw that right. There is an actual day dedicated to celebrating cowboys. Yee-haw! I'm there. I'll also be at an FB Party that day--July 25. You want to be there too. Trust me. Lots of authors, lots of giveaways, and lots of pictures of sexy cowboys. Here's the deal...

A
Celebration of all things Cowboy! Join OVER FORTY WESTERN AUTHORS for a full
day of cowboy fun. We will be offering a grand prize gift certificate to BOOT
BARN as well as individual giveaways from each participating author. Hop over (click on) to theevent page for a full list of participating authors join and mark your
calendar. I’ll be there with bells, um, boots on!

There was a time when blogging was all the rage. Then, like a lot of things, blogging fell out of fashion. People who used to haunt blogs turned to social media--Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram. I'm one of those people. Sucked in big time (almost exclusively) by Facebook. I'm there a lot. As in every day. I don't envision abandoning that venue any time soon. So if you want a guaranteed daily dose of me be sure to LIKE me @ https://www.facebook.com/BethCiottaBooks

Moving on...

Recently I've been offered a couple of promotional opportunities that involve me posting and linking from my blog. BLOG? Yeah. I have one of those but it's, um, two years out of date. So I spent an evening blowing off the dust and renovating this site. Giving it a new look. I've made baby steps. Hence the "Coming Soon" reference on the various pages. Please bear with me as the overall renovation will take some time.